Business loan document checklist

What are the core documents every lender asks for?

These eleven items cover almost every business loan application. Small online loans use the first and the last two; banks and SBA lenders want all of them.

1. Business bank statements, the last 3 to 6 months, every page
2. Business tax returns, the last 2 years
3. Personal tax returns for each owner of 20% or more, the last 2 years
4. Year to date profit and loss statement
5. Year to date balance sheet
6. Accounts receivable aging report
7. Accounts payable aging report
8. Business debt schedule listing every loan, line, lease and advance
9. Business licenses and permits
10. EIN confirmation letter from the IRS, and articles of incorporation or organization
11. Government photo ID for each owner, plus a voided business check for funding

What you need to apply shows what this site collects.

Why do lenders want bank statements, and how many months?

Bank statements are the one document almost every lender reads line by line, because they show what actually happened rather than what the accounting says. Underwriters count deposits, check the average daily balance, and look for overdrafts, returned items and days the balance went negative. They also spot loan payments you may have left off the debt schedule.

Online lenders and cash advance companies want three to six months. Banks and SBA lenders want six to twelve, and may ask for a direct bank connection. Send complete PDF statements for every business account, including blank pages. Screenshots and transaction exports are usually rejected because they can be edited.

Which tax returns and financial statements do you need?

Lenders want two years of business returns and two years of personal returns for every owner of 20% or more, with all schedules. Banks and SBA lenders verify them against IRS transcripts, so send the return exactly as filed. If an extension is open, send the extension and the prior two years, and expect a request for year to date figures.

Financial statements should be current to within 90 days: a profit and loss statement and a balance sheet from your accounting software, dated the same day. They do not need to be audited for most loans under $1 million. Make sure the balance sheet debt matches the debt schedule; mismatches are the most common reason a file bounces back from underwriting.

What goes in a debt schedule and the aging reports?

A debt schedule lists every business obligation: lender, original amount, current balance, monthly payment, rate, maturity date and collateral. Include equipment leases, lines of credit, cash advances and loans from owners. Lenders use it to calculate your DSCR and to check whether a new loan would be stacked on top of existing advances, which many lenders refuse.

The accounts receivable aging lists what customers owe you by how old each invoice is (current, 30, 60, 90 days and older). The accounts payable aging does the same for what you owe suppliers. Lenders read them for concentration and slow payers, which matters most for factoring and lines of credit.

What extra documents do specific loan types need?

Beyond the core list, each product has its own extras. Have them ready before you apply and the file moves faster.

• Equipment financing: the vendor quote or invoice with model, serial numbers and price
• Commercial real estate: the purchase agreement, current lease or rent roll, and property tax bills; the lender orders the appraisal
• Business acquisition: the letter of intent or purchase agreement, three years of the seller's financials and tax returns, and projections
• Invoice factoring: sample invoices, the customer list with contact details, and your customer contracts
• SBA 7(a) and 504: SBA Form 1919 (borrower information) and SBA Form 413 (personal financial statement) for each 20% owner, plus projections if the business is under two years old
• Franchise: the franchise agreement and the franchisor's disclosure document

Canadian businesses provide the equivalents, including a CRA business number and a void cheque.

How should you prepare and send the documents?

Download PDFs directly from your bank and accounting software, name each file clearly, and keep them in one folder. Do not alter, crop or annotate a statement; if something needs explaining, write a short note instead. Check that the numbers agree across documents before you send them, because an underwriter will.

Documents go stale: bank statements older than 30 days and financials older than 90 days usually need refreshing before funding, so apply when the file is fresh. You can upload everything on this site, or share the folder with your AI assistant and have it extract the numbers, fill the application and flag what is missing before it submits through our MCP server; see how agents handle documents and the agents hub.